Microsoft has taken the unusual step of announcing a patch for an Internet Explorer vulnerability just a week after its traditional patch Tuesday announcements.

Microsoft has taken the unusual step of announcing a patch for an Internet Explorer vulnerability just a week after its traditional patch Tuesday announcements. The Redmond software giant was concerned that the vulnerability could potentially expose millions of customers and so rushed out a patch.

According to reports, the vulnerability could allow attackers to gain control of a Windows PC running versions 6 to 8 of Internet Explorer by directing users to malicious Web sites. Microsoft had apparently released a number of workarounds to the flaw as temporary solutions, but in the January 14th announcement a permanent fix will will be announced, saying there was no need to wait any longer.